Dr Ferrero's Baby Secret

‘Would you like to come back to the villa for a cup of coffee?’ he offered, hoping she would refuse. Having Kelly in his home would be a mistake. Once she’d been there, he would never be able to rid himself of the memory. He couldn’t bear to imagine how hard it would be to sit in the house each night on his own and recall her visit.

‘No, thank you,’ she said quickly. ‘I don’t want to be a nuisance.’

‘You aren’t being a nuisance,’ he countered curtly, stung by the speed of her refusal. Did she have to make it quite so obvious that she didn’t want anything to do with him?

‘I’d still prefer not to come in.’ She shrugged, drawing his attention to the fact that the vest top she was wearing had left her shoulders bare apart from two thin little straps.

Luca felt the emotions suddenly gush up inside him again like the bubbles in a champagne bottle once the cork was drawn. He couldn’t seem to drag his gaze away from her. Soft evening light was filtering through the trees, painting her milky skin with a golden lustre. She looked like a gilded statue as she stood there, yet he knew that if he touched her it would be flesh and blood he felt, not stone.

His hand half lifted before he realised what he was doing. He couldn’t touch her, couldn’t smooth his palms over her skin and feel its warmth, and he certainly couldn’t dip his head, open his mouth and taste it.

Desire rushed through him, heated his blood, pooled in his loins, and he groaned. He wanted her so badly but it would be wrong to give in to his urges. Even if she felt the same way, it made no difference. He had nothing to offer her now but sex and it wasn’t enough, not for him and definitely not for her. Kelly deserved to be loved, wholly and completely and for all eternity. She deserved a man who could give her his heart, his mind and his soul, and he was no longer that man, although he had been once.

‘I’m supposed to be meeting some of the staff down at the harbour. It’s Catarina’s birthday and we’re going for a meal. I’d better get off otherwise I’m going to be late.’ She lifted her arm to check her watch and Luca frowned when he heard her gasp.

‘What’s the matter?’ he said sharply, because it felt as though he’d been knifed straight through his heart. He could never be the man that Kelly needed and he couldn’t begin to describe how wretched that made him feel.

‘Nothing. I banged my elbow and it’s a bit sore, that’s all.’

‘Let me see.’ Luca put Matteo on the ground and took hold of her arm, frowning when he saw the bruise on her left elbow. ‘You need a cold compress on that to reduce the swelling.’

‘I’m sure it will be fine,’ she said, quickly removing her arm.

‘If you want to run the risk of not being able to move your arm for the next week, that’s up to you,’ he said harshly, even though he knew it wasn’t fair to speak to her like that. It wasn’t her fault that he felt this way, neither was it her fault that she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. After all, he’d been the one who had ended their affair.

The thought set light to his temper and he glowered at her. ‘However, I should warn you that I shall take a dim view if you are unable to do your job because you were too stubborn to accept my advice.’

Her face flushed with angry colour. ‘Then it appears I don’t have a choice, do I?’ She shot a derisory glance at the villa. ‘I only hope your friends don’t mind having a stranger foisted on them so you can play the big tough boss, Luca. It’s probably a side of you they haven’t seen before. Aren’t you afraid it will spoil your image?’

‘Not at all. I have never allowed anything to get in the way of doing what I know is right.’

It was nothing less than the truth, but it didn’t help him to know that. He could tell that Kelly was furious with him as he led her back to the villa but he didn’t care, couldn’t allow himself to care. Matteo was chattering away, but for once in his life he was barely listening to what the child was saying. He was too keyed up, too angry, too upset, too…too everything.

‘Papà.’

Matteo’s voice cut through the maelstrom of emotions whirling around inside him and Luca jumped. ‘What is it, caro?’ he asked, ashamed of his selfishness.

He listened carefully while Matteo solemnly told him about the big motorbike that had come down the road and how the lady had picked him up. It was only when he had finished his tale that Luca realised Kelly was standing, stock-still, in the middle of the driveway. There was an expression of shock on her face that scared him when he saw it.

Instinctively, he stepped towards her, but she backed away. Her face was the colour of parchment now that the angry colour had faded and for a moment he wondered if she was going to faint. What if she’d done more than merely bruised her elbow? he thought sickly. What if she’d banged her head and injured herself badly?

‘Whose house is this?’ Her voice was so low that it sounded as though all the life had seeped out of it, and his fear intensified. Something was seriously wrong and he had no idea what it was.

‘I asked you who this villa belongs to,’ she repeated in a tone that made him wince.

‘Me,’ he said simply. ‘This is where I live.’

Her eyes closed for a moment before she opened them again and stared at him. ‘If this is your house then who is Matteo? Where are his parents?’

Luca felt a wave of sadness wash over him. He knew that his answer was going to hurt her and that there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He had promised Sophia that he would never tell anyone the truth about Matteo’s birth and he never had. In the eyes of the law, Matteo was his son and that was what everyone must continue to believe, including Kelly…especially Kelly.

She’d never made any secret of how important her career was to her. She had told him two years ago that she intended to get to the very top and he had believed her. He’d understood her need to succeed because he’d felt the same way. Proving that the people at the home had been wrong to say that he would never amount to anything had spurred him on. It had been a long, hard struggle to reach his present position and he wouldn’t have got there if he hadn’t remained completely focused.

If Kelly was to achieve her ambitions, she needed to be equally committed. However, if he told her the truth about Matteo then he knew that she would want to help and that was the last thing he could allow to happen. Juggling the demands of parenthood with a career was extremely hard as he knew from experience; some days he wondered how he coped. He certainly wasn’t going to put that kind of a burden on her at this stage. The next few years were crucial; she needed to concentrate on learning all she could and couldn’t allow anything to distract her. Even though he knew that what he was about to tell her would destroy any good memories she had of their time together, he refused to jeopardise her career.

‘Matteo is my son, Kelly. Mine and Sophia’s.’

CHAPTER FOUR

‘IF YOU’D wait in here, I’ll make sure Matteo is all right and come straight back.’

Kelly didn’t say a word as she walked into the sitting room—she couldn’t. She wasn’t even sure how she had got to the villa. She’d just put one foot in front of the other and kept going. Now she could feel herself trembling as she stopped in the middle of the room.

‘Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I’ll get my housekeeper to bring you a drink. What would you like—tea, coffee, or something cool perhaps?’

‘Nothing.’ Her voice sounded cracked and thin, like the voice of a very old woman. She cleared her throat because it was important that she maintain her dignity. ‘I don’t want anything to drink. Thank you.’

‘If you’re sure…?’

Luca let the question trail off but she didn’t answer him. She’d used up every scrap of strength and had nothing more to give. She sat down on the sofa after he left the room and closed her eyes. She could feel her heart beating, hear herself breathing and knew she was alive. It was just the core of her that had died, the vital spark that made her who she was. It had been snuffed out by those words: Matteo is my son. Mine and Sophia’s.

Pain welled up inside her and she bit her lip. The only positive thought she’d had to cling to these past two years was that there’d been nothing premeditated about the way Luca had treated her. Now she could see what a fool she’d been to believe that. Luca had carried on an affair with her even though he must have known that Sophia was pregnant.

Tears swam to her eyes but she blinked them away. By the time Luca reappeared, she had herself under control. She obeyed without question when he placed a small table in front of the sofa and told her to rest her arm on it. He’d brought a basin of water and a towel with him, and she didn’t object when he bathed her elbow. She didn’t care if he touched her. She was numb, immune to him now, inured against any future pain by his past betrayal.

‘This should help to reduce the swelling.’ He wrung out the towel and wrapped it around her elbow. ‘You’ll still have a bruise in the morning but this should alleviate some of the stiffness at least.’

‘Thank you.’ Kelly barely glanced at him as she stood up. ‘I’ll let you have the towel back tomorrow.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said dismissively.

‘I would prefer to return it,’ she said, walking to the door. She crossed the marble-floored hallway without glancing either to left or right. Any desire she’d had to explore the house had disappeared. She was no longer interested in it or its owner.

She stopped when she reached the front door and turned to look at him. Ever since she’d discovered they would be working together, she had been afraid that she wouldn’t be able to separate Luca, the man she had loved, from Luca, her boss, but it was no longer a problem. The person standing before her was a stranger, someone who had lied and cheated to get what he’d wanted. She couldn’t even feel angry about what he had done; she just felt numb.

‘Are you sure you feel all right? You don’t have a headache, do you?’

‘I’m fine,’ she said flatly. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’

‘Of course.’

He didn’t say anything else as he let her out. Kelly didn’t look back as she made her way down the drive. She had no idea if he was watching her, but it didn’t matter if he was. He meant nothing to her now. He was just someone she worked with, someone she could learn from so she could improve her skills. The children she treated would benefit from her knowing Luca, but for her, personally, it was a matter of indifference.

It was only when she reached the end of the drive and discovered that she couldn’t see where she was going that she realised she was crying. Tears were pouring down her face, blinding her so that she stumbled and had to grab hold of the gate to steady herself. Luca had had a child with another woman. Sophia had been carrying his baby while he’d been making love to her. What kind of a man slept with another woman when his girlfriend was pregnant?

‘Kelly? Are you all right? What’s happened?’

All of a sudden Luca was there and she rounded on him in fury. ‘How could you, Luca? How could you sleep with me when Sophia was expecting your child?’

‘Because I had no idea she was pregnant!’ He caught hold of her arms and held onto them when she tried to pull away. ‘I only found out about the baby when I returned to Italy.’

‘You really expect me to believe that?’ she scoffed.

‘Yes, because it’s the truth.’ His grey eyes flashed as he gripped her even harder and she winced as his fingers bit into her bruised arm. He uttered something harsh as he swiftly released her. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Kelly.’

‘Didn’t you?’ she said brokenly.

‘No.’ He ran a gentle finger down her cheek and wiped away a tear. ‘Not now and most definitely not then. You were far too precious to me.’

‘Don’t,’ she pleaded, because she couldn’t bear to hear him say such things when they weren’t true. ‘Please, don’t say anything else, Luca. I don’t want to hear it.’

‘I know and I don’t blame you, either. But you have to believe that I never meant any of this to happen. All I’ve ever wanted was to protect you, Kelly.’ He cupped her cheek with his hand and his eyes were filled with sadness. ‘I know I failed in the past, but I swear that I won’t fail again.’

She wasn’t sure what he meant and didn’t care. She twisted her head to the side so that he was forced to release her. ‘I don’t want you to protect me. I suggest you concentrate on your wife and your son from now on and leave me alone.’ She laughed harshly, whipping up her anger rather than give in to the despair that threatened to overwhelm her. ‘I wonder what Sophia would say if she found out that you were making promises like that to another woman. Or maybe it’s something you do on a regular basis and she’s used to it? Perhaps I should ask her.’

‘That isn’t possible,’ he said roughly.

‘No?’ She shrugged. ‘I can understand you not wanting us to meet but don’t worry, Luca. I’ll be very discreet. I won’t say a word about the fact that you were sleeping with me when she was pregnant.’

‘Sophia is dead.’

The words cut through the still evening air and Kelly gasped. She stared at him in horror. ‘Dead?’

‘Yes. She died eighteen months ago.’

‘But Matteo must have been only a baby,’ she said blankly.

‘He was six months old.’ Luca took a deep breath, but the pain in his voice was so raw that it brought fresh tears to her eyes. ‘She had a highly aggressive form of breast cancer.’

‘And there was nothing anyone could do for her?’ she whispered.

‘If she’d received treatment as soon as it was diagnosed then she might have had a chance, but the odds were always stacked against her.’

‘What do you mean, if she’d received treatment sooner? What was to stop her having it immediately?’

‘Sophia found out that she had cancer the same week she discovered she was pregnant.’ He ran his hand over his face and Kelly could tell how much it hurt him to talk about what had happened. ‘She refused to undergo any treatment in case it harmed the baby. Her consultant pleaded with her, but she refused. In her eyes, it would have been tantamount to killing her child.’

‘And did you know about this?’ Kelly asked, appalled. ‘Did she tell you that she had refused treatment?’

‘No. I had no idea that Sophia was pregnant let alone that she had cancer until I returned to Italy. She was eight months pregnant by then and I managed to persuade her to have a Caesarean so she could begin chemotherapy. However, we both knew it was unlikely to help very much. In the event, it gave her a couple more months to spend with Matteo.’

‘I don’t know what to say…It must have been awful…for both of you.’ She tailed off and he sighed.

‘It was much, much worse for Sophia. She knew that she wasn’t going to live to see her son grow up and that’s what scared her more than anything else. Once she was sure that Matteo would be cared for, she accepted what was happening. She was extremely brave right until the end. It was humbling to watch the way she coped with her illness.’

‘Is that why you got married so soon after you returned to Italy?’ Kelly said quietly. One of the things that had hurt her most had been the speed with which Luca had married, but now she understood why it had happened so quickly. He must have been desperate to save Sophia from any more heartache.

Her heart lifted as she realised that it cast a different light on the events of the past. However, it would be wrong to get too carried away. She must never forget that it had been Sophia he’d loved, not her.

‘Si. There was no point waiting when it was the one thing that would set Sophia’s mind at rest.’ He stared at the ground for a moment and when he looked up, she could see the plea in his eyes. ‘I meant what I said, Kelly. I never intended to hurt you. I just didn’t have a choice.’

‘So, Alessandro, how do you feel today?’ Luca stopped beside the boy’s bed. It was the start of the morning ward round and Alessandro Alessi was the first patient on his list. He reviewed Alessandro’s notes while the boy explained that he was feeling much better that day.

The CT scan had shown no sign of an obstruction and Luca had concluded that the excess of cerebrospinal fluid had been caused by a fresh bout of infection. He’d prescribed another course of antibiotics and they appeared to be working, although he had no intention of rushing things. Alessandro was due to be discharged the following day, but he decided that he would keep him in hospital while they monitored the situation. There was no point taking any chances at this stage.

‘I’m glad you’re feeling better,’ he told the boy with a smile. ‘However, I think it would be wise if you stayed in the hospital for a few more days. Hopefully, you’ll be well enough to go home after the weekend.’

Alessandro’s face fell. ‘But it’s my birthday on Friday. I was going to have a party and all my friends were coming.’

‘I’m very sorry,’ Luca said sympathetically, knowing how important birthdays were to children. ‘Maybe you can have your party another day?’

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